Blasted Off
by cluelessclown
Summary: How did Andromeda get ostracized from the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black? And what did her cousin Sirius have to do with this, anyway? Two-shot. Part one set in 12 Grimmauld Place, part two set in the Tonks household, a week later.
1. Part One: Sirius

**Blasted Off**

...

_O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?_  
_Deny thy father and refuse thy name._  
_Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love_  
_And I'll no longer be a Capulet._

-William Shakespeare, _Romeo and Juliet_, 2.2

...

A little boy's soft black curls hurtled through the Black House. He looked inquiring, doubtful, searching for what had disturbed his peaceful sleep. As usually, it had been his dear mother's voice, booming down from the living room – but that time it had been followed by a woman's identical shrilly voice, yelling in response. They, however, did not seem to be arguing, for they both screamed the same name repeatedly, followed by the worst words young Sirius had ever heard anyone yell.

"THAT LITTLE PRAT, HOW DARE SHE RUN AWAY WITH A FILTHY MUDBLOOD – !" screamed his Aunt Druella, in an outraged voice.

"She'll regret it, Druella, you'll see..." said Sirius's mother, Walburga, with the most loathing voice Sirius had ever heard. "She'll learn...she'll see that filthy little Mudblood is nothing compared to a good Pure-blood wizard, and she will come back begging you to admit her back in your house."

"AND IF SHE DOES DARE RETURN, I WILL MAKE SURE NOT EVEN HER SISTERS DARE OPEN THE DOOR FOR HER, THE SCUMBAG!" bellowed Druella.

Sirius wondered at once who might his aunt be talking about. For all he knew, she had always been fond of all her three daughters – Bellatrix had finished her studies almost three years ago and had managed to get quite a few N.E.W.T.s, which pleased her parents greatly, not to mention her engagement to a nice, pure-blood wizard named Rodolphus Lestrange; their second daughter, Andromeda, was about to start her last year at Hogwarts and the youngest, Narcissa, her sixth year. As Sirius was only ten years old back then, he could not understand how could any of her daughter displease Druella Black in any way. Besides, his cousin Andromeda had always been the nicest to him.

" – If it does please you, Druella, we will blast her off the family tapestry." said Walburga hastily.

"THAT'S THE LEAST WE CAN DO, THE FILTHY LITTLE THING!" bellowed Sirius's aunt in disgust. The boy heard his aunt standing up – a bit too quickly for what he heard, for a fair amount of dishes and glasses seemed to fall to the floor and shatter – and walked towards the door. Sirius quickly backed away – he knew his aunt Druella wasn't exactly fond of him, perhaps because he had always been a bit too friendly to Andromeda. He hid behind the wooden staircase, peering out in the darkness to find his mother and his aunt walking to the room with the Noble House of Black Family Tree tapestry, his mother clutching her wand tightly, almost viciously.

"What're you doin' here?" snapped a voice behind him, unfriendliness mixing with a long yawn.

"Leave me alone, Reg," whispered Sirius.

"You're eavesdropping on Mother and Auntie Druella, aren't you?" sneered Regulus, Sirius's nine-year-old brother. "I'm going to go tell them."

"You wouldn't dare," growled Sirius.

"Oh, I _would_," said Regulus.

Said this, the little black-haired boy rushed out of Sirius's reach and hurried into the room their mother and Aunt Druella had entered a few seconds ago. Sirius could hear his yells from his hiding place under the staircase.

"Mother!" said Regulus shrilly. "Mother, Sirius has been eavesdropping on you and Auntie Druella!"

He heard no answer to Regulus's words, so he decided to slip out of his hiding and walked to the House Tree room, where he stood awkwardly, peering at the doorway. He saw his mother wearing an angry expression, her wand aloft, and her aunt patting Regulus's back fondly.

"What are you doing here, boy?" asked his aunt sharply. "This has nothing to do with you."

"Who are you blasting off now?" Sirius sneered, something like a smirk in his voice. "Another Squib found in our family? How nice. Or is it one of my cousins, Aunt Druella? Have they not married one of our cousins? Is that why you're feeling so disappointed?"

His aunt was rather taken aback by young Sirius's fierce, determined voice. He might have only been ten years old – turning eleven next October, Sirius thought excitedly – but he knew perfectly well what was going on. He had seen his mother inside a couple of times, pointing at one of the faces in the Family Tree with her wand and burning its face within seconds. He then, however, noticed her wand was now pointing at his cousin Andromeda's face, both his mother and aunt looking tense and his brother Regulus gasping loudly.

"Go to bed, Sirius," said his mother stiffly.

"Is it Andromeda, then?" Sirius asked, defying his mother's words. "Yeah, I bet it is. She's run away with some Muggle-born, as I've heard – "

"_Mudblood_, Sirius," corrected his mother. "The right word is _Mudblood_."

"I think it is politer to call them Muggle-borns, mother, thank you," answered the boy, a bit too cheekily. He then looked at his aunt Druella defiantly. "Well, at least she won't be marrying her own cousins. You know, tradition makes me _sick_."

"SIRIUS!" bellowed his mother. "I SAID GO TO BED! I WON'T REPEAT IT AGAIN!"

Sirius turned back, ready to leave the room. His mind was reeling – he now thought he liked Andromeda more than ever. Defying the family traditions and running away with a man who was not only not related to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, but _Muggle-born_! Had there been anyone in his family marrying a Muggle-born before? He was most surprised when he found out he did not only not despise his favourite cousin at all – but actually felt quite pleased with the thought of a rebel in the family, wishing he could do something like that to show his family he was completely different._  
_

"Very well, Mother," he said defeatedly. "I shall go to bed." He turned on his heels and asked just as he reached the doorway, "Just one more question, Mother – if you and Father got divorced, would you still be brother and sister?"

And before his mother could utter a single word, Sirius sped towards his bedroom, ready to write an owl to his favourite cousin.

...

**A/N**: So this was the short intro for my two-shot on how Andromeda got ostracized from the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black. Hope you enjoyed the intro! You shall find the second part soon.

Elli x


	2. Part Two: Andromeda and Ted

**Blasted Off: Part Two**

...

_I seem to have loved you in numberless forms, numberless times, in life after life, in age after age forever._

-Emily Dickinson.

...

_Dear cousin Andromeda,_

_I am sorry if Blathers disturbs you this late in the night, but I thought I should let you know your mum – aunt Druella, that is – has come see my mum – your aunt Walburga – because she was really mad about something. I didn't know what made her so angry, so I decided to kind of eavesdrop on them to find out. I couldn't hear much, but then they walked to the House Tree Room and Regulus came sneaking behind me and told Mother that I had been eavesdropping, and so my mum got very angry and sent me to sleep, but before I went back to my bedroom I saw she was blasting your face off the family tapestry._

_Now, I really don't know why did they do such a thing – Reg was smirking, but I wasn't, you see, you're my favourite cousin and I still want you in the family. I did hear them talking (well, more of yelling, actually) about someone running away with a Muggle-born (of course, they used the other term they're so fond of, but I don't really like it, so I'll just say 'Muggle-born') – was it you, Dromy? Because they blasted you off and all..._

_I'm really confused. You've always been a good daughter, and now they suddenly hate you. But being in love with a Muggle-born man isn't that bad, is it Dromy? Because they're still wizards like us, aren't they? Or are they less able, like mother and aunt Druella say? I have never met one before, I'm just curious. Well anyway, I just thought I'd write to you to tell you the've blasted you off, but you still are my favourite cousin, Dromy. And I don't mind it if you marry a Muggle-born or heck, a Muggle even, as long as you're happy. I don't think they're as bad as Mother and aunt Druella say, anyway._

_Love,_

_Sirius._

Andromeda read her little cousin's letter with a mixture of happiness and dread filling her insides. She had always expected this to happen, but hearing from her little cousin that her own mother had insisted on ostracizing her from her own family – it made her feel a twinge of uneasiness inside her stomach. Still, reading her cousin's lovely words, being only ten years old ('And I don't mind it if you marry a Muggle-born or heck, a Muggle even, as long as you're happy.') brought a smile to her face.

She felt a pair of arms enveloping her in a soft embrace by her back, a chin resting over her shoulder.

"Who's writing so early in the morning?" Ted Tonks yawned behind her, glancing at the letter sleepily. It must have been three in the morning, or even less. He wondered how on Earth had his girlfriend woken up, being such a heavy sleeper.

"It's my little cousin, Sirius," she explained, re-reading the letter again. "He's only ten, you know."

Ted frowned. "Is he scolding you or something? Because if it's got something to do with your sister Bellatrix's Howler – "

"No, he's saying a quite different thing," she told him, handing her boyfriend the letter Sirius had written in a hurry after his mother had sent him to sleep.

She looked at Ted with a smile, which broadened as he saw him chuckle at her little cousin's words. She knew Ted was very fond of little children, and had known at once that he would enjoy her cousin's letter immensely.

"He must be a really nice lad," Ted commented as he folded the letter back into its envelope. "And, for instance, must not really fit in your family, does he?"

"Oh, he doesn't," said Andromeda, caressing the owl's caramel-coloured feathers happily. "He's only ten and both of his parents seem to despise him greatly. His little brother has always been the important one. And he definitely isn't as half as bratty as I had expected him to be."

Ted nodded, bemused. He then looked at Andromeda, who seemed to have a shade of worry in her face. Trying his best to show her an encouraging smile, he pulled her closer and enveloped her in a small hug.

"Don't you worry," he whispered. "It's all fine. We've talked about this before, haven't we? We'll spend the summer here, at my parents', and then we'll return to Hogwarts, just take our NEWTs and...poof! We're free to do whatever we want."

"But – " she choked, barely able to hold back the tears. "I – what about my sisters? And the other Slytherins? They'll – they'll torment me to no end – and then there's my other cousins, they're always lurking around – "

But Ted wasn't listening. He looked into her eyes with a serious expression Andromeda had barely ever seen in his eyes, and yet took it as very usual. She was now fighting back tears, which had welled up in her eyes and were ready to race down her cheeks.

"Listen, Andy," he said in a serious, yet comforting voice. "Do you really love me?"

Andromeda was taken aback by his question, and felt rather hurt for having Ted questioning her love.

"Of course I do!" she exclaimed, tears now falling onto her cheeks.

"Well, then," Ted said, rather solemnly. "There will be no problem with your cousins, sisters or any of the Slytherins. Your sister Bellatrix has always been the toughest of the two of them, and Narcissa will just not talk to you, which I think you'll be able to deal with anyway. And as for the rest of the Slytherins – just tell me their names, and I'll make sure their heads engorge enough to hold their magnificent egos. And you'll never, _ever_ have to be alone. I'll always be there for you, and my friends find you a very nice person too."

He saw Andromeda showing him a truthful smile before wrapping her arms around his neck, sobbing quietly. Ted rubbed her back soothingly, knowing this conversation would have had to take place sooner or later.

"You're – you're the best man in the world, Ted," whispered Andromeda after a couple of minutes of silence. "I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart," he whispered.

He took her and and took her back to her bed, where he sat her down, sitting next to her in the squashy, soft mattress. He drew circles on the back of his girlfriend's hand absentmindedly, while she rubbed the tears from her face with her other hand. They were sitting in a comfortable silence, which was only disrupted every now and then by the sound of the summer winds swishing the window open and closed.

"Andromeda," he spoke up then. "I was – I was wondering – nothing formal, of course – well, only if you want it to be, that is – because if you don't want to I'll understand, we're young and we've plenty of time to decide – "

Andromeda looked at him with an amused expression.

"What do you want, Teddy?" asked the girl bluntly, a smile playing in her face.

"Well – " Ted did another sigh and finally blurted the words out, "I was wondering if you'd like us to get married someday. After we've graduated, of course, and it doesn't have to be that early – "

But a grin had appeared on Andromeda's face. She leaned forward and silenced Ted with a long, sweet kiss, looking mostly excited about his question. She saw Ted had turned bright red after the kiss, and she giggled – which was very unlike her – and hugged him tightly.

"Oh, Ted," she whispered, grinning. "Of course I'd want us to get married someday."

Ted smiled, relieved. He looked at the owl still sitting on the window peacefully, and then he deduced little Sirius must have commanded her to stay put until his cousin had written an answer. He smiled, that boy must have been one nice child. He kissed the top of Andromeda's hair and sat with her in silence until she fell asleep in his arms. With a slight yawn, Ted placed her inside the small bed, pulled the bedclothes up to her arms and kissed her forehead one last time before heading off to his own bedroom, where he would still be able to catch three or four hours of sleep before a new day, always with Andromeda by his side, started.

There would be more than enough time to answer Sirius's letter tomorrow. For now, all they would both do was sleep.

_The End_

...

**A/N**: I dunno, I don't really like this chapter...but oh well, I'll have to live with it. Anyway, thanks so much to all of my reviewers! It means a lot to me to know you're enjoying my stories...so thanks a mil, everyone! :)

Anyway, this story's finished now, but I'll have new stories to come pretty soon. So stay tuned to my FFn account! Lots of love,

Elli x


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